1. Field
The present disclosure relates to a disc-based microfluidic apparatus which may transport a fluid in an opposite direction of a centrifugal force.
2. Description of the Related Art
A lab-on-a-disc-based microfluidic apparatus, which controls a fluid based on a centrifugal force, is an apparatus that may automatically perform a series of processes with respect to various samples. The microfluidic apparatus is used in diverse fields to analyze biological samples, extract target materials from biological samples, perform biochemical process on different samples, etc.
The microfluidic apparatus may transport a fluid only in a direction of the centrifugal force. When the microfluidic apparatus is rotated, the fluid housed in the microfluidic apparatus has a higher potential energy as the fluid is closer to a rotation center and has a lower potential energy as the fluid is farther from the rotation center. That is because the fluid may flow only from a position having a higher potential energy to a position having a lower potential energy. Thus, as there are more processes to be performed via the microfluidic apparatus on the samples, a radius (a distance in the direction of the centrifugal force) of the microfluidic apparatus increases, thereby leading to an increase in the size of the microfluidic apparatus. In this case, the size of a driving device for rotation driving the microfluidic apparatus should also increase.